Talk About Buying In....

At the 1st practice of my 10U rec team, I introduced myself to my players (the ones I didn't already know, which was 4). I asked them what kind of team they wanted to be. I told them that the type of team they would be was based on their own commitment because when I said I would be a head coach, my option to NOT give me best left out the window. I've poured into them and pushed them beyond what "seems right for a rec team" in our area. They answered the bell and it showed in our play. It's amazingly refreshing to see it "click" for each individual player when something we practiced happens in the game, whether they made the play or not. Just the idea that they see the need to prepare for the application. So, I scheduled a practice today (not knowing it was Labor Day) and the parents asked me to cancel due to plans. I said sure no problem. I'd planned to take my DD to the field for some MUCH needed agility training (taking the dad cap off again, sorry). One of the parents of a player asked me to spend some time today working on hitting with their DD. She's a first season 10U and had not seen kid pitch, so the "pitcher is your friend" mentality was really hurting her at bats. I said sure and agreed to work with her an hour before DD's 2.5 hour torture session (as she envisioned it). Shortly after agreeing to that, the parents of the 2nd catcher on the team sent me a photo of her working on her stance. This was a great photo because she had an extremely difficult game 2 days before and we lost the game in the inning she right n was catching. It wasn't all her fault by a long shot, but she took it hard that she didn't hustle several times, costing runners to advance (5 if memory serves me correctly). Long story short, she wanted to work after DD worked. So, I agreed to work with her for 30 - 45 minutes on catcher "homework". All of this was agreed to yesterday so I had a long day at the park ahead of me and pretty much prepared myself for it. 4 minutes before I get to the park, I get an email from another parent who said her DD wanted to work on pitching and fielding. I thought about saying no, but then figured if I'm already there, just give her whatever is left in the tank.

WHAT A REFRESHING DAY IT WAS TODAY! DD ran and ran and ran some more. She is probably dreaming of ladders and deep shots to CF at this point. Mission accomplished. 3 other players decided to pester their parents long enough to ask me to spend some last minute time with their DDs. Unexpected mission accomplished.

All 4 kiddos got "homework" and some 1-on-1 time where they felt more comfortable asking questions, which was great. Moreso, they were able to get more out of rec without damaging the others who didn't want more. It's a win-win. 3 of the kiddos (DD is definitely not included in this) wanted more time with me to work on their craft and that was the great part for me. They didn't want to leave when their time was up. I asked DD afterward how she felt about me working with the girls and she smiled and said "I got more time than them so I'm good. Push em. I want a trophy!"

Now, if only I could freeze time to this moment.....